


Onward, Upward & Downward (The Roots)

by Sounddrive



Series: The Path She Picked [1]
Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Backstory, Dysfunctional Family, Family Issues, Gen, Immigration & Emigration, Magic, Magical Artifacts, Mild Blood, Minor Injuries, Mythical Beings & Creatures, POV First Person, Past Abuse, Starting Over
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-06-24 15:06:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19726105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sounddrive/pseuds/Sounddrive
Summary: A young magician's trek toward Vesuvia for a better life is unexpectedly waylaid by entering the magical realms in her sleep.The following TWs apply: past references to abuse, blood, references to having been/lived in the middle of a war-zone, falling from immense heights at various speeds, falling through a void/space, temporary loss of one's voice, the unpredictability of magical realms, and nausea caused by aforementioned unpredictability.





	Onward, Upward & Downward (The Roots)

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: There's some words from my Vietnamese heritage intermixed with my fan apprentice's internal dialogue. Despite the fact that I am a part of said culture, I am not exactly 100% *fluent* in it. For anyone that has Vietnamese as a first language, I apologize ahead of time for any and all mistakes I make with grammar and spelling.

It’s getting late. The sun is sinking into the horizon.

 _Keep heading northeast,_ I tell myself. _Northeast, northeast,_ northeast. _Northeast, northeast north-_

I pause a moment to catch my breath. My knapsack digs into my back, full of my necessary supplies. 

I look down at my bandaged hands. Some of the strips are cut from my old clothes, long since worn out. The cloth strips are wrapped here and there over my fingertips, palms, and the backs of my hands. Some cloths can be easily replaced; other scraps of them I need to either throw away, or wash...

If I even _can_ wash them at this point. One of the strips is an ugly, slightly damp brown over dried blood. The brown’s from the dirt and sand all around here. The injuries beneath, the dried red, were from laboring under my cousins’... _‘charitable’_ mercy upon me. Mercy from _them_ to take me on a _long_ journey to my destination.

The ‘simple favors’ I had to do for them in turn were menial and backbreaking.

In the end, my cousins had taken me about ninety percent the way to Vesuvia. Since then, it’s just been me taking my sorry soul the rest of the way ever since. _‘Just follow the compass and go Northeast’_ they said. _‘Northeast, phù thủy’_.

I’m relieved I don’t need to rely on them anymore. I’m sick of being helpless, and being called names just because I know some magic...

I look to the left and right of me: golden fields. I look to the back of me: golden fields. I look to the front, and finally there is some differentiation: golden fields, but I _think_ I see the faint outline of Vesuvia in the distance.

It _has_ to be. I _want_ it to be...

I’ve seen nothing but fields of gold for the past two days. It’s not exactly a desert, but are mirages from golden fields a thing? I don’t know! If there is, I really hope with all my might that the outline of the city ahead of me _is not a_ **_fucking_ ** _mirage!_

Mind made up, I wobble over about ten to fifteen steps off the road and into the tall fields around me. My legs finally give out, and I fall flat on my face.

“Ack...”

I push through the pain, through my aching _everything,_ and unburden myself of my knapsack. Much to my chagrin, most of the contents of my knapsack drop and roll out into the dirt. I painfully crawl around, pulling my supplies back to myself as the sunlight fades.

When the stars finally shine and moon glows, I need to squint. My eyes are not the best in terms of seeing clearly. Trying to see at night is tedious, even with the moon above me.

I shift the formerly wayward items into the moonlight, checking to see if I have everything.

There’s my compass, a raggedy old map _to_ Vesuvia from my last pit-stop, a tin of salve, a messy pile of bandage strips made from my old clothes, a canteen of alcohol, two canteens of water, one slightly damp washcloth, and a heavy tome, covered in strange symbols.

I smile at the tome, gently patting the top cover in greeting.

In response, the arcane text flutters its pages. A soft, raspy voice from between the sheets within ask:

**"̸̲̍͌D̵͓͒̏o̵̝͋̍ ̵̫̑y̷̱̣͊͋o̷͕̘u̵̦̰̿͘ ̶͉̀r̶̞̮̈ḙ̸̗͋̆q̷̗̤ư̸͌͜ͅî̵̮r̵͚͘e̸̺͍͝ ̶̳͂̍à̶̭͐ş̴̌s̴̞̯̀̃î̴̳s̴͓̑t̵̩̠̋̚a̷̤̯͐ň̸̺͍c̵̛̪̘̈́ȅ̴̪͕̾?̶̰̓̆"̸̮͛**

“No Umbrae,” I say to the tome. “I got it. Rest up in the moonlight; we’ll be in Vesuvia by tomorrow.”

**"̶̞̩͝V̸̱̯́ĕ̵̱͠r̸̡̺͒̏y̴̲̐ ̷̫͒̐w̶̤̆́è̵̗l̵͎͈̔͛l̶̥̄.̶̱̇ ̵̤̌̄S̸͓̐͗l̶͕̒̃e̴͍̅͑e̷͎̼͗p̵͖͓̈́͝ ̸̡̥͐͂w̴̳̞̉e̷̬̅l̵͉̀l̵̹͛͒,̴͖̎͆ ̷̝̓y̴̞͕̾o̸̳̣̐͠u̷̮̚n̴̺̔ḡ̷͇ ̸̝̀͜ó̴̞n̵̩̖̈́e̴̞͊.̸̘͐̉"̶͓̋̕**

With that my magic teacher’s form settles down, looking like an ordinary book yet again.

I swallow, looking at my hands. There are open cuts and sores that are split open beneath uncomfortable strips of cloth. Eyes narrowed, I gather the items I need in order to change my bandages.

With an exhale, I settle back, grit my teeth, and begin pulling them off.

****

Well, to say it _didn’t_ hurt like hell would be lying. I used the rest of the alcohol and the salve in my knapsack to clean my wounds. My hands sting something fierce, but the cool, minty smell is soothing.

It’s a struggle to even toe off my shoes, but I’m settled on the dirt now, eyes to the sky. My peripherals are surrounded by tall stalks of grain.

It’s strange, really. The stalks are so different, and yet not. I know they bear grains, like the fields back... back...

No, not home. _There_ isn’t home anymore. Home is Vesuvia... or at least going to be home...

I think...

...

I’m not so sure yet. I hate to admit it, but I’ve heard nothing but bad and wild stories about Vesuvia. Mẹ said that her brother was irresponsible to settle in a place such as that. 

At least... at least I’d be with Cậu Bảo. He’d be a familiar face in a strange place, even if we haven’t seen each other in...

Ten years?

His letters to the house were always months and months late, but he has kept us updated on how he was doing. Mẹ read his messy script, saying that he really needed to work on his penmanship more, tut-tutting as if she were his mother, and not his younger sister.

Letters aside, I knew he was someone I could go to in case anything went wrong back at the house. Our village was right in the middle of two warring territories after all. The village was a neutral spot, which had been agreed upon by the warlords because of our position in the river. It was one of the easiest access ports in order to buy, trade or barter for food.

I just never expected it to go so wrong for me, the way it did...

I shake my head vigorously, getting my mind in the present. Right. No need to get caught up in that business now.

That was then, and this is now.

That was _then,_ and _this_ is now.

And here I am, at most two hours away from what is, hopefully, Vesuvia.

I move to rest my head on the low slope of my knapsack, adjusting every so often so I have some sort of support for my neck and head.

As the wind blows, the stalks around me rustle. They play a chorus of _shh shh shh_ , the semi-repetitive sounds lulling me to sleep.

* * *

When I wake up, it takes me a moment to realize I’m somewhere impossible.

I’m floating in midair, surrounded by a sea of unfamiliar stars.

I bolt upright, and my body feels out of sync with my mind. My eyes see multiples of the same orbs of light all around me.

When I collapse back onto what feels like the ground, stars gather under where my hands and feet are planted. These things... they’re keeping me afloat...

Slowly but surely, the place around me finally stops spinning. Or rather, my vision stops bouncing around like a rabbit.

My breaths are shaky, but I slowly stand to my feet. Once fully upright, I look around.

As far as my eyes can see, there’s nothing but stars. They’re an assortment of colors and sizes, but the stars are spherical in shape. They shine like precious gems.

I am filled with a sense of awe.

A sound like a tree trunk snapping in two jolts me out of it. I’m suddenly aware that a path is assembled before me. Layer upon layer upon layer of stars gather together, creating a path. It looks like it’s a way forward... but forward to where?

I pause a moment, thinking.

The stars haven’t failed me yet. The stars for the past year and a half have _not_ failed me. The only times they failed was because of human error. The gods placed them in the sky and we mortals are the ones that are supposed to follow the directions with the tools we have in order to navigate.

And these stars... say _go forward_.

With one more exhale, one foot in front of the other, I head onward.

****

I don’t know how long I have been walking, but it’s been an oddly pleasant experience. The stars not beneath my bare feet subtly hum and ring in greeting as I pass them by.

Before I can take another step, a deep, resonating rumble cracks the walkway ahead of me. The sheer force of it—!

I've been thrown off, backwards. I am flailing my arms about, trying to reach for the starry road, but I miss.

It dawned upon me that I'm falling.

_No! No, nononono-!_

I'm screaming, but nothing comes out. My voice... it's stolen from me.

I hurtle past a hundred thousand things. I glimpse dying stars, whorls of stars with fields of blue and skies of green, spheres fit to burst with fire and ink, and bubbles full of nothingness.

It's more than I can comprehend, more than anyone can _possibly_ comprehend.

* * *

Eventually, I've slowed down. I'm not in danger of losing my limbs if I flail about now, but I'm frozen. I'm curled up into a ball.

I'm crying; silence is still taking hostage of my throat.

If the tears I cry drip past my chin and miss my sleeves, they lazily wobble down into the darkness, dotted with glittering stars. It's above, it's below...

It's everywhere. Everything and _nothing_ is the same.

Despite being semi-blinded by my tears, I began to take stock of what's around me. I've been rationalizing my thoughts ever since I slowed to the speed I'm at now.

I know I'm dreaming. None of this, _this_ all around me, could be possible in the waking world.

Umbrae mentioned to me that was possible for humans to travel to realms in their dreams...

The bubbles I passed before... were they the realms Umbrae spoke of?

Despite my neck being sore, I lift my head to finally look around. Even if I squint, eyesight is still crap. I can't make detailed assessments.

After a while, I can make out that there's something below me. I'm too scared to move, so I just let whatever force is pulling me down take me there.

****

I can finally make it out: it's another bubble. A _massive_ one at that.

I spot a smattering of white from my position. Spots of browns and greens peek through gaps of that top layer in that massive sphere.

Before I can process it, and to my alarm, I make contact at the very top—

—and I breach through the bubble.

An immense force overtakes my body. I'm pulled down, down, down, past a layer of what I realize are clouds. Faster, and faster and faster I go, heading for a blur of brown and bright green below-!

My voice finally kicks in as I scream. It’s the only thing I can hear aside from the wind whistling past my ears as my body falls.

_I'm sorry, Mẹ._

* * *

...

....

.....

I'm flat on my front, eyes still shut. Dirt is in my eyes and my short, severely asymmetrical hair, but somehow, I'm alive. I’m _alive_.

Slowly, I wiggle my extremities. Finger by finger, limb by limb, I realize nothing's broken.

Blearily, I open my eyes. Everything is fuzzy, but I can feel that I'm in something that's like grass.

Tilting my head up, I'm greeted by a sky that is a confusing mix of hundreds, if not thousands, of colors.

I gag, my stomach lurching. I end up dry heaving into the grass...

...

....

.....

Once my body runs its course with nausea, I manage to wipe the dirt out of my hair and eyes.

What... what the hell is going on with me?

 _I want to wake up._ I beg silently. _Please, let me wake up..._

I freeze as a bush just off to my right starts to rustle. I fall back onto my bottom, my blood rapidly pumping through me as I'm face to face with that bush.

_... There's something in it._

If it's hostile, I'm screwed. If it's friendly, it might be able to help me...

What am I going to do? What _should_ I do?

 **[** **Investigate the bush** **||** **Run** **]**

* * *

_EDIT ABOUT 5+ HOURS AFTER INITIAL POSTING: Hello readers! I failed to note that this is NOT a choose your own adventure!_

_Lyra has chosen both options, but this is where her path from being an NPC turns onto the path of_ The Apprentice _, or turning to the_ Love Interest AU _._

 _You’re gonna get both!_ (In time. I’m still working on this and other things in real life).

_Thank you for reading!_

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: And also a disclaimer: I am not in anyway bashing on the devs’ decision to change the prologue to the way it is currently. I am merely explaining how I reached my decision in terms of *where* Lyra is coming from (location wise) to get into Vesuvia, based on the map the devs released a while back for Vesuvia.
> 
> Now then:
> 
> In the prologue, previously to version released on May 21st, 2019, there was a maze test Nadia gave MC to perform in order to find Doctor Devorak (Julian). There was an option to escape the maze, and you’d end up meeting Julian that way.
> 
> He notes that MC came out of The Palace from the Southwest side, and the background graphic that was shown upon exiting the maze was The Fields during the day.
> 
> This is where I have gotten my head canon for how Lyra came to Vesuvia, heading Northeast from the edge of the Fields. There is no way Lyra would’ve *survived* crossing from The Fields into The Forest, and passing out in The Forest is high on the ‘you’re most likely going to die’ route.
> 
> And with that, disclaimer & A/N done! Thank you for reading.


End file.
